


A Missed Opportunity

by tatersalad5001



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canonical Character Death, Gen, Possession, Roxasnort, Soranort - Freeform, Spoilers - Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Spoilers - Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep, Spoilers - Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance, Spoilers - Kingdom Hearts II, Xionnort, basically lots of spoilers and lots of norted kids. that's what we got folks. enjoy, i can't really find actual tags for those for whatever reason so that's what we got, i mean. we're gonna agree here that 358/2 days that someone died at the end right? right, let's nort some kids!, rated g because nothing's worse here than the actual series and that's e10+ so you're good
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-10
Updated: 2017-12-10
Packaged: 2019-02-13 03:46:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12975180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tatersalad5001/pseuds/tatersalad5001
Summary: Having two Keyblade wielders in the Organization isn't doing them any favors. They needed to rid themselves of one, and it didn't matter which. But whichever Keyblade wielder they were left with would be difficult to control, and that left too much room for error. Rather than letting Keyblade wielders run loose, a more direct approach could be taken to ensure everyone behaves properly.





	A Missed Opportunity

**Author's Note:**

> [bangs my pots and pans together real loud] yooooooo xehanort there was every opportunity to nort xion without any interference and you didn't! what the heck dude
> 
> I've been enjoying all the good Norted Sora (Soranort) content lately, and that got me thinking. So here we are. I wrote this in like five days because I have no self control and I absolutely do need to be working on homework, and I have been, but I'm extremely frustrated with it. Here you go. Enjoy!

As Xemnas walked through the halls of the Castle That Never Was, he knew exactly what would be waiting for him.

How could he not? He planned for every possible outcome, prepared for every possibility. The moment he created the Organization, he made each of the members trackable, even himself. He knew what everyone was doing at all times. And he knew that Axel had not only returned from his mission to retrieve their runaway puppet, but he had been successful, too.

They were both unconscious by the time Xemnas found them. Axel had likely stayed conscious just long enough to bring her back, just barely winning their battle. Xion had been delivered back to the Organization.

Carefully, Xemnas picked her up and began to walk again. He had a plan, of course. There was no longer any need for two Keyblade masters. No, at this point having two wielders was hurting the Organization. The puppet's powers were sapped directly from Roxas; as long as they both existed, neither could reach their full potential. It did not matter which one remained. Only one was needed. And, well, if the other Organization members weren't willing to do the job, Xemnas would simply set them up to destroy each other until one remained.

The replica needed reprogramming. She wouldn't try to destroy Roxas without prompting. It'd be simple enough, puppets were easier to convince than people. And, as a replica, she'd be able to get a power boost. Preparations had already been made in areas Sora had visited: this would give her deeper access to Sora's powers. All that was left was to--

A single thought crossed Xemnas' mind.

In order to reach his goals, he had made many plans. Then, he'd made backups to each of these plans, and backups upon those. There could be no room for error, after all. He could almost be certain, this way, that he would succeed. But a certain amount of improvisation was needed as well. Xemnas was not above realizing that he couldn't plan for everything. Light could be unpredictable at times. 

And, it seemed, this was another time to improvise. His original plan was sufficient, yes, but the remaining Keyblade wielder could still rebel. Sora still had a chance to wake up, and that boy was simply too unpredictable, out of Xemnas' control. Why not ensure that whoever remained was still within his reach?

Perhaps, Xion was more useful than she seemed.

* * *

As Xion walked up the clock tower to the usual spot, she knew exactly what she was doing. She knew she was playing right into Xemnas' plans.

Her new...position allowed her knowledge, more than she had realized there was to know. She knew the Organization aimed to rid itself of one of its Keyblade wielders. She knew Roxas had rebelled, left, and she knew exactly where to find him. She knew about many, many Keyblade wielders that had come before. She had learned about a war long past, and a war in the distant future, a war being sought out, that was inevitable. She knew Organization XIII's true goal. She knew she had a heart. She knew that fact meant absolutely nothing.

And she knew whatever she did now, it was within the scope of the Organization's plans for her.

Xion had been driven by her own curiosity for almost as long as she could remember. But now that curiosity had grown stronger, extended further. She had a strong desire to seek out many things now. The truth, other worlds, the future, darkness, Kingdom Hearts. But what drove her to keep going for so long was now, for the first time, something she was actively trying to resist. She couldn't give in to the darkness. For now, she still seemed to be mostly herself, but it was a losing battle. She couldn't keep this up for long. 

As much as she hated it, she needed help. She had faith that she and Roxas could do it together. But first, her existence had to come to an end.

Her own plan in mind, she continued the long trek up the clock tower, two ice creams in hand, hood pulled forward to obscure her face. As she reached the top, Roxas was sitting there, as she expected. He jumped when he saw her, surprised, but she wordlessly handed him an ice cream and sat down next to him. They ate together for a few minutes, in silence.

It couldn't last forever. Why did it have to end this way?

"Roxas, I'm out of time," she said simply.

She was long past that. Riku had given her time to decide what to do, and she was grateful. He had no reason to be as kind as he was towards someone keeping his best friend asleep. But all that time had done was doomed her, more than she already had been. If she'd chosen quicker, she could have at least fought for the side she believed in. Now, if her entire life had no impact on anyone, she would be lucky.

There was a question hanging in Roxas' expression, but he stayed quiet, waiting for Xion to elaborate. Before she did so, she stood up, and after a moment's hesitation, removed the hood from her face. She knew exactly how Roxas would see her, and she didn't like it. But she needed him to see how important this was. 

"Even if I'm not ready, the choice has already been made. You've poured so many memories into me...I've been given so much that I feel like I'm about to overflow." She looked over at him, making eye contact. His mouth was hanging open in shock. She knew what he saw. "If you see somebody else's face, a boy's face, then that means I'm almost ready."

She was almost ready. For what? To become the perfect replica? To lose her identity, her individuality? To be destroyed? To be erased from the memories of everyone she'd ever met? Maybe she wasn't ready for any of these things. Maybe she was ready for all of them. Regardless, it really didn't matter. Her fate was sealed. Roxas, Sora, they still had a chance, at least.

Xion had made her point. She pulled the hood back over her head, and took a step forward into the empty air above the clock tower. As she took that step, Roxas jumped to his feet, desperately reaching to grab her arm and pull her to safety. He missed, but she didn't fall. She continued to walk forward, slowly.

"This puppet will have to play her part," she warned him quietly. Behind her, Roxas didn't make a move.

Whatever her part would end up being in this, the choice would be made for her. All she could do was be ready for it, no matter what it was. For now, her part was simple: she had to get Roxas to fight back against her. He had to win, even if only in self-defense. It made no difference to Xemnas' plans  _who_ won, but  _she_ needed him to win.

She turned around to face him. He was still reaching out for her, still hadn't moved since he'd tried to save her from falling. 

"You're next, Roxas. I have to make you a part of me, too," she declared, smiling bitterly. "Don't you see? This is why I was created."

_Please, Roxas,_ she begged him silently,  _Put an end to me._

Xion began to summon the darkness, to transport them away for her battle. As she did so, she summoned her Keyblade in her hand. Just before darkness completely obscured her vision, just before the transportation, just before her own transformation, she glanced down at the weapon in her hand.

The Keyblade in her hand wasn't replicating Sora's anymore. 

* * *

As Roxas stared at this person in front of him, falling to h̨͟e͏r̡̧ knees, all he could think was that he had  _no idea who this was._

The appearance of this person shifted rapidly to him. A blank face, with the hood of h̨͟e͏r̡̧ Organization cloak obscuring any facial features. A girl with short black hair and eyes as blue as the ocean. Another girl, only with red hair. Another type of Nobody. (like him?) A boy with brown, spiky hair. (Sora?) Another boy, with longer, whiter hair and bright yellow eyes. (Once, Roxas swore he saw that one guy, Riku, from his dreams, too.) But seeing all of these forms, he still couldn't figure out who this was. Any time he felt like he got close to figuring it out, his mind went blank, the facts as he he knew them slipping just out of reach, and he was back at square one.

"Who are you, again?" he finally asked her, realizing that he wouldn't be able to solve this anytime soon. Not on his own, at least. "It's weird. I feel like...I'm forgetting something important."

"You'll be better off now, Roxas," s̛h͡ȩ̵ told him. She started to topple over completely, her whole body about to make contact with the ground. Moving entirely on instinct he lunged forward, catching her before she could hit the ground. He didn't want h̨͟e͏r̡̧ to get hurt. He wasn't sure why that mattered so much to him.

Though, as he gave the rest of h̨͟e͏r̡̧ body a quick scan, he realized s̛h͡ȩ̵ already  _was_ hurt. How did that happen? If this person had been standing right here, in front of him, wouldn't he have seen what happened? He remembered leaving the Organization, but everything else after was becoming a big blur.... A thought occurred to him.

"Am I the one who did this to you?" Roxas asked.

S̛h͢͡e̕͡ shook her head. "No, this was my choice," s̛h͡ȩ̵ told him. "Or..."  S̛h͢͡e̕͡ paused, looking down at h̨͟e͏r̡̧ feet, which were starting to crystallize and break apart. He had no idea what was going on, but it was memories. Memories going back to where they belonged. "This is the closest thing to a choice I could make. It's better this way, I can't...I can't let Xemnas get what he wants. My only hope now is to go back where I belong. I belong with Sora."

It was clear that no amount of Curagas, no amount of Hi-Potions, could stop this. Whatever was happening, it was going to happen. All Roxas could do now was stay here in the end, so he stayed where he was.

"Roxas, I need you to do me a favor," the person went on. He listened closely; whatever it was, he knew he'd do it, even if he had no idea who asked it of him. "You're strong, Roxas. You always have been. It's going to be tough, but...no matter what, we can't let Kingdom Hearts be completed. We can't."

"...Kingdom Hearts?" Of course, he knew what Kingdom Hearts was. It's what would give them all hearts, right? He had no idea why they couldn't let that happen. But it didn't matter. If it was this important, he'd do it. There wasn't another option.

"It won't give everyone their own hearts." Roxas' expression must've betrayed his own thoughts. "Please, Roxas. It's too late for me to undo my mistakes. But we can't let Xemnas get his way."

The crystallization spread more rapidly, now climbing up her legs. He stared at this for a moment in shock, but his attention was pulled away.

"Goodbye, Roxas. See you again," s̛h͡ȩ̵ said, h̨͟e͏r̡̧ voice growing weaker. "I'm glad I got to meet you, and Axel, too. You're both my best friends."

The two of them noticed the tears falling down Roxas' cheeks at the same time. With great effort, s̛h͡ȩ̵ reached up to him and brushed some of them away.

"Never forget, that's the truth."

He̷͘͢r hand began to fall away limply, but Roxas grabbed it a second later. For the briefest of moments, everything was clear. He remembered everything.

"No, Xion! The three of us will eat ice cream together again. I know we will!" Roxas called to her desperately.

But it was no use. Her entire body was now crystal. In the briefest of moments, all too soon, her entire body shattered apart. All that was left were memories, which were quickly rising away. Going back where they belonged, where she belonged.

She belonged here, with him and Axel.

Roxas took another look at where his best friend once was. Something else  _had_ remained. It was a seashell, one of the many she had taken to collecting after missions. He picked it up, and in his mind, he could see her again. He could see Xion as herself, and not any of the things the Organization claimed she was. She was smiling. Then, briefly, the image shifted, turning her hair white, her eyes a bright gold, and her expression neutral.

He shook his head, shaking the image again, and remembered the real Xion as long as he could.

* * *

The memories Xion had been holding onto, everything she was, had to go back to where they belonged. Back to Sora. But obviously, they didn't have to go far. Why would they? Sora was right there, with her. At least, that's where his body was. It could all go to a different Sora, in theory, but that one was farther away, that would be harder. They were both Sora, so it would all end up where it belonged regardless. This was all temporary. Soon enough, Sora would only be one person. He'd be himself.

* * *

Axel stared bitterly at this person standing in front of him, someone he once called his best friend, who was giving him an equally sour expression in return. It was clear now. Roxas wouldn't be looking at him like this if he was still running around in ignorance. Roxas must remember everything now.

The anger was expected. It was impossible for this reunion to be anything close to happy. Roxas rebelled all on his own, chose to leave all by himself. Axel was just acting on orders, but that put them in direct opposition. Besides, many of their more recent conversations had been arguments. What had they even been arguing about? Some silly friend stuff, probably, Axel didn't have the luxury on dwelling on it at the moment. If their relationship was going become anything like it had been before, they'd have to go through a lot of sorting out and conversations first. That was, of course, if Roxas came back with him to the Organization. Roxas absolutely wasn't coming back willingly, which would mean Axel would have to defeat him in battle first. Considering the kid had bested Saix a week and a half ago, Axel didn't like his odds.

He came here expecting Roxas to be upset, expecting to have to fight Roxas, and yet, something inside Axel still  _stung_. What was it with this kid, anyway? He kept making Axel feel like he had some semblance of emotion somewhere inside him. Axel hated getting stuck with the icky jobs.

From the looks of it, though, Roxas looked a bit hurt himself. Or worse. He looked worn out, sweat glittering across his forehead, and all week he'd kept acting like there was some sort of persistent pain in his chest. Geez, what was the Saving Sora Squad  _doing_ to him?

"Axel," Roxas greeted him. He said nothing else. There was no need to say anything else. Just that one word, dripping with anger, told Axel everything he needed to know.

"You really do remember me this time?" It was a rhetorical question. They both knew the answer to that one. Axel laughed. "I'm so  **flattered**!"

The last word came out with a yell. This whole thing was frustrating. Why did this kid have to make him like he had a heart? Why did that same kid have to act so angry, and make him do the same? Why did things have to come to this? Why did he have to keep doing this? What did that last question mean? Axel hated all of it, and let out whatever was going on here out in the one word. His magic, as it often does, reacted to this. The entire room burst into flames, a wall of fire circled around them both. It wasn’t entirely intended, but he’d make it work. He could let himself be fake angry; he’d need it if he was going to get through this one.

Axel summoned his weapons with another flash of fire. “But you’re too late!” Oh, no, they weren’t getting out of this one without a fight.

Roxas followed suit, his Keyblade forming in his hand. But then, a light flashed, and there were suddenly two. Two Keyblades, one in each hand, each taking on a different appearance.

”Two?!” Axel managed to spit out. Since when could Roxas use two Keyblades? Wait, no, that wasn’t why he was here, that wasn’t what was important here. He laughed again, preparing to fight. “Come here, I’ll make it all stop,” he called out as he jumped back to hide amongst the flames.

It came as no surprise to either of them when Roxas won the fight. Axel was barely in one piece, backing away into a corridor of darkness to make his escape. Roxas' expression was unreadable, but Axel could feel that the hostility between them was mostly gone.

"Let's meet again, in the next life," Axel told him.

As he finished speaking, the darkness began to transport him away, back to the Castle that Never Was. But just before the digital copy of Twilight Town was gone to him completely, he heard Roxas answer, "Just because you get a next life..."

* * *

When Riku woke up in Sora's heart, something immediately felt wrong.

...Well, something should feel wrong, because it was. Sora's heart was still asleep, pulled in by the darkness. That's why Riku was here in the first place. But it was more than that. Sora's heart had merely been pulled in by the darkness, so why did Riku feel more darkness than light here? Sora wasn't like him, Sora had only ever fought on the side of light, there definitely should be more light here.

The darkness here was almost suffocating, Riku was having trouble seeing anything here besides the ground he walked on. 

How was he supposed to wake up Sora? If this was Sora's heart, why wasn't Sora here?

Without warning, he was struck, attacked by figures obscured in shadow. He couldn't see their faces, couldn't identify them, but he could tell there were probably around four people here, all hostile towards him. Riku struggled to right himself, shake off the blow and strike back, but another attack came, this time from the front. He fell backwards, barely keeping himself in a sitting position. These things, whoever they were, hit  _hard_. Not only that, but they were using the element of surprise. How was he supposed to compete?

A bright white light blinded Riku as soon as that last thought crossed his mind. It appeared to be some type of healing spell-- he jumped to his feet, the pain from those attacks gone. When the light faded, he could tell someone new was standing next to him. They were just close enough that he could make out a face...

"Roxas?" Riku asked.

"Ven," came the correction. Ven smiled at him briefly before channeling his concentration into another spell. A wind spell, this time. Air swept rapidly around in a circle around the two of them, blowing their enemies away from them. Ven was an ally.

"Do you know what's going on here?" Riku cut straight to the chase. They probably didn't have long before they were attacked again, and he needed the facts if he was going to wake Sora up. "Why is Sora's heart...like this?"

Ventus shook his head. "There isn't time to explain. I can hold them off a little longer, but you need to escape while you still can."

"What?" Riku stared stupidly at him. "But Sora...I still need to wake Sora up. That's why I came here. I can't go now!"

"I know," Ven replied. "And I know you can save him, Riku. But we won't win this battle. How are you supposed to save Sora if you're defeated here?"

_We don't know that until we try!_ Riku could hear Sora in his head. But Riku was a little more cautious. They were outnumbered here, and he glanced at their weapons, just close enough now to barely make out: they all had Keyblades, too. Maybe stubbornness wasn't the answer here. The last time Riku fought another Keyblade wielder, one alone was tough: four was a tall order. 

"What should I do next, then?"

"Sora's heart is still asleep, and darkness has taken a strong hold, here. You might not recognize him for a long time. But keep fighting for him, keep fighting to get him back. You won't be alone. When the times comes, the darkness here will be weaker, and you'll be able to wake him up then," Ven said. "Just keep fighting, and wait."

Riku nodded. He...wasn't really sure what most of that meant. But he'd been fighting against darkness for awhile now, and he could be patient. "I'll be back," he promised, to both Sora and Ven. "Next time I'm here, it'll be to wake him up."

Ven smiled. "I believe in you. Don't give up on your friend."

And then Riku left.

* * *

When Sora had woken up, for the first time in Twilight Town, his heart  _hurt_.

It wasn't an emotional pain. It wasn't because he'd missed his friends, or Riku had still been gone, or because Kairi was back home and he hadn't gone with her. It wasn't because he couldn't remember what he was doing there, or why he was there, or how he got there. It was more physical. Something in his chest felt different, and it was wrong. 

Goofy had asked him if he was okay, and Sora had brushed it off.

That pain never went away. Not when he met up with Kairi, not when he found Riku. Not when they defeated Xemnas and went home. It only got worse, and it had hit hard during the Mark of Mastery exam. He was struggling just to keep going, and darkness pulled him into sleep all too easily.

It was only then that Sora realized that his heart hurt because he was struggling to stay in control of it.

Xehanort, the younger one, had revealed what the Organization was doing at the end of Sora's exam. They were pulling him into darkness, putting his heart to sleep so he could become a vessel of darkness, and a member of the Organization. He'd figured the exam was the start of that, but it must've stretched back further than that, because Xehanort was already there, waiting. Something in him had already succumbed to the darkness of Xehanort, and he was following straight after.

Sora was asleep. He couldn't wake up. He was trapped here, in the confines of his own heart. But Xehanort smiled at him. Xehanort had more control; the darkness pulling Sora to sleep allowed him to wake up and take over.

He couldn't resist. So when his body woke up again, he was much more Xehanort than Sora. It was much easier to take over a new vessel if their heart fell to sleep.

"Hey, he's awake!" someone yelled. Axel? Oh, wouldn't he be Lea now? He had no idea why Lea was working with the other side now, but it didn't really matter. It made no difference to him.

Everyone else in the tower gathered around: the old fool Yen Sid, the mouse, the duck, the dog, the princess of heart. Riku. Oh, Riku. What a shame that plan hadn't worked out.

Riku was examining him closely, clearly suspicious. Everyone seemed more anxious than excited, as if they weren't sure what he'd do or how he'd act. In that case, might as well get straight to the point. 

"This vessel has succumbed to the darkness, as he was always destined to," he announced as he stood up. His gaze swept slowly around the room, his eyes glittering gold. "Now he belongs to me, which leaves you a few lights short. I will give you time to prepare. I'll be looking forward to the next time we meet."

Before anyone had the time to react, the boy known as Sora was gone.


End file.
